Sugar pines are natives of western North America. They live up to 800 years. The name
”sugar pine” derives from the sweet smell of freshly cut wood; the sap can be extracted to
make a sweet that is said to compete with maple sugar.

Identification: Trees reach 98-164' (30-50 m) tall, with a maximum of 246' (75 m). The trunk is 35-71" (90-180 cm) in diameter, up to a maximum of 11' (3.3 m). The crown is a tall, narrow cone, becoming more rounded with age. Bark is red- to gray-brown. Needles occur in groups of five, each 1¾-4" (5-10 cm) × ¹/₃₂" (1.5 mm). They are straight, pliable, and blue-green in color. The immature cones are up to 12" (30 cm) long × 1¼" (3.2 cm) around, tightly packed and almost smooth, purplish. Mature cones expand to up to 14" (35 cm) in length—longer than those of any other conifer.